Redwood
Road’s project plans have now been solidified to a seven-lane road. Residents
raised much opposition over the proposed raised center median.With many residents in attendance to
voice their opinion about the opposition to having a raised center median
between 12800 South and Western Charm Drive along Redwood Road, Mayor Bill Applegarth
started a discussion about the Redwood Road project at the Feb. 7 city council
meeting.“My
goal is to make the record just totally accurate,” Applegarth stated. “We have
now got the funding in place. The transportation commission was very nice in
moving funds for us for this project.”The
original plan for the Redwood Road-widening project was to build a five-lane
road with no bike lanes or shoulders. Eventually, years later, the road would
be expanded into a seven-lane road.According
to Applegarth, it’s cheaper to build the road out all at the same time. UDOT
and the city plan to build a seven-lane road with shoulders, sidewalks and bike
lanes on each side. In addition to the project being cheaper, the council
wanted to build the road out at one time to avoid the taking property from residents
twice for Redwood Road expansions.In
prior city council meetings, the following items were discussed in conjunction
with the widening project: an intersection alignment and traffic light
installed at Christian Way and Western Charm Drive and an intersection
alignment and traffic light installation at 13035 South and Riverton Ranch Road.

These neighborhood
entrances will be aligned into an intersection at Christian Way and Western
Charm Drive because the residents have no way of getting out of their
neighborhood unless they exit onto Redwood Road. Another reason for the
intersection is so residents will not need to go into Bluffdale and make a
U-turn just to come back to their neighborhood in Riverton. Without an
intersection, the proposed median would make it impossible to turn left onto
their neighborhood streets.

The intersection of Christian
Way and Western Charm Drive met a warrant to have a traffic light installed. A
warrant means that enough cars are present in the intersection to justify
having a traffic light installed. Unfortunately, the future intersection at
Riverton Ranch Road and 13035 South has not yet met warrant, so no traffic light
will be installed until the warrant has been met. While the alignment of the intersections are in
the budget plans and are set to be accomplished, according to Applegarth, the
traffic light installation at Christian Way and Western Charm Drive is not
currently in UDOT’s budget for the project. Applegarth proposed a way to pay
for this traffic signal at the meeting. “There
is a current rainy day fund balance, which is at $1.3 million,” Applegarth
said. “My plan is to leave $600,000 in the fund balance and to leave for
amenities $700,000. We don’t have to raise taxes for this funding.”According
to Applegarth, this is just a suggested way to pay for the traffic signals that
are not in the project budget. The council ultimately has all the power in
deciding whether to take from the fund balance or to take from the general
budget. Applegarth continued on this proposed method of paying back the funds
taken from the fund balance.“I
have to have a way to repay that (the rainy-day fund), which is with the
CenterCal opening and with the businesses coming in that should give us a $300,000
sales tax increase,” Applegarth said.The
CenterCal project will consist of restaurants, retail stores and office spaces.
The location of this project is going to be on 13400 South and Mountain View
Corridor. Applegarth also spoke about his proposed way of paying back the rainy
day fund with the CenterCal project.“My
plan starting in 2018–19 is to take $100,000 from that sales tax increase for
that year and you do that for four years to get that fund balance back up to 1 million,”
Applegarth said. “I think it’s a reasonable risk.”Voting by the council on this funds
issue will take place at a future city council meeting.According to Jessica Rice, UDOT
project manager, demolitions of homes have already started and construction
activities will be starting in the spring. The project will start at the south
end of Redwood Road and work north. The east side will be finished first. Once the
east side is completed, traffic will be diverted to the east side while
construction continues on the west side of the street. The project is expected
to be completed this winter[J1][J2][J3].The project has two controversial
topics among the council and city residents: Whether a raised median or a
painted median should be installed and perceived lack of communication between
UDOT, the council and the residents.“Communication has been a problem in
this, so I wanted everyone in the same room,” Applegarth said.Applegarth believes there needs to
be a raised median between 12600 South and Park Avenue and between Western
Charm Drive and Bangerter Highway because of high traffic and commercial
businesses in those areas.Rice and Applegarth said money will be
saved by having a raised median instead of a painted median because a raised
median doesn’t require the full-depth concrete in the center lane like the
other lanes require.Having raised medians saved money on
the middle pavement sections, which allowed for that money to be placed into
the aligning the intersections at Christian Way/Western Charm Drive and
Riverton Ranch Road /13035 South, according to Applegarth.“The most important thing of this
whole thing is not money,” Applegarth said. “The issue here is what is the
safest road to build.The issue for me is not convenience or if you can pull into
your house or not—it’s whether you can safely get into your driveway through
having a painted median or have U-turns placed throughout the raised medians.”Bob Ford and Charlie Heaton, both Riverton
residents, spoke out about their opposition to having raised medians and
proposed to have flat-painted medians that would give turning capabilities
between intersections.“We expressed our opposition at the
Old Dome Meeting Hall,” Ford said. “The things that we are frustrated with are
that we feel like we have not been heard by UDOT. We want to have a voice in
this discussion. Anywhere that there isn’t a raised median in other cities is a
direct reflection of the citizens and council outcry.”According to Ford, the residents
whose homes are on the east side of Redwood Road have not received correct
compensation to the reduced access to their properties. Also, when UDOT
representative Mike Richardson negotiated with the residents regarding their
properties, reduced access due to the medians was never a part of the
conversation.“I feel that we were not involved in
a design build,” Councilman Brent Johnson said. Those in attendance clapped in
response to Johnson’s statement.Applegarth responded to Johnson’s
statement.“That’s the purpose of this meeting;
Trace Robinson has been involved in the whole design effort and representing
Riverton,” Applegarth said. “I believe if we proceed, we can cut through a lot
of this given all of the people that are dedicated to this issue.”According to Ford, accidents like
rear-ending and side-swipes have the potential to go up in the areas where the raised
medians are being put in because the medians restrict traffic. Restricting
traffic can also leave an impact on surrounding neighborhoods. It could pose an
issue for getting into the city offices, dropping children off at school and
trying to get into their driveways that border Redwood Road, Ford said.“We believe that the diverted
traffic into the neighborhoods will pose a risk for neighborhood accidents,”
Ford said. “We believe that we should not have to pay for the risks for the
perceived safeties.”The council will discuss this issue again
in future city council meetings to determine whether a raised median or a
painted median goes in at Redwood Road. The council will also discuss where to
pull the funds from to fund the traffic lights at Christian Way and Western
Charm Drive, which has met warrant, and at Riverton Ranch Road and 13035 South,
which has yet to meet warrant.